Drama Program Faculty

Ursula Robinson, MFA

Associate Professor of Drama

Ursula Oriana Robinson is the Drama Program Coordinator and a Tenured Associate Professor of Drama at South Carolina State University where she cultivates and molds young dreamers into accomplished artists. Ms. Robinson holds a BA in English, a BA in Theater Arts, and an MFA in Acting. Blessed with the gifts of playwriting, performance, and practically anything artistic, Ms. Robinson believes that the arts have the ability to change people’s lives for the better.

Ms. Robinson has been a faculty member of SCSU since 1999. During her tenure, she has created wonderful and moving performances that have captivated audiences. She has developed her skill in one-woman performance art pieces and playwriting. She has written and produced numerous plays and skits. She has been commissioned to write plays for various organizations including the Orangeburg Chief of Police, Wendall Davis, who asked her to write a play for the annual Gang Awareness Summit.

Along with various community efforts and initiatives, Ms. Robinson is Head of Education for Urban Playwrights United, an umbrella organization for urban playwrights and producers, and President of the South Carolina Theatre Association, part of the Religion and Theatre Committee and Vice-President of the Acting and Directing Committee of the Southeastern Theatre Conference. This accomplished artist is known for her one-woman shows, her hilarious comedy acts, and her prowess as a writer of personalized monologues.

The talented, Ms. Robinson, not only uses her skills to entertain but to educate and motivate. She works with people of all ages and backgrounds to promote the power of art.

Shannon Jones, MFA

Assistant Professor of Drama

Ms. Jones is a professional actress and director of theatre with over 10 years of college teaching experience. Her academic degrees are MFA in Acting from UNC Greensboro and BA in Theatre from Mississippi University for Women. Ms. Jones came to Orangeburg from Elizabeth City, NC, where she was the Assistant Professor and Director of Theatre at the College of the Albemarle. Ms. Jones is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association, a designation she earned on a national tour with the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Her other professional credits include TV and film, and she was featured on such television shows as “Wicked Attractions” and films such as “George Washington”. As a director, Ms. Jones has directed over 25 plays, musicals, and performances for audiences of all ages. Last spring, Ms. Jones was certified in New York as a Joker for Theatre of the Oppressed Techniques and truly believes in theatre as a tool for social change. A musical theatre geek at heart, Ms. Jones will gladly bust out a show tune at the drop of a hat.

In addition to theatre, Ms. Jones is a nationally certified Hatha Yoga Teacher (RYT 200) with specializations in pre/postnatal, and Yoga Ed K-8 (children). In 2012, Ms. Jones won a SEROG grant at SCSU to study the efficacy of yoga for stress reduction, and continues to find ways to incorporate these life saving techniques in her own life, the lives of her students, her colleagues, and the community. Ms. Jones continues to give yoga to her colleagues at SCSU, and her class “Yoga for Stress Reduction” is a popular mainstay in the professional development office. If not on campus, you can find her teaching a class at the YMCA in Orangeburg if she’s not in Zumba class.

Robert Osei-wusu, MA

Instructor of Drama

Mr. Osei-wusu, better known as Mr. “O” holds a BA degree in Theatre from the University of Ghana and an MA degree in Technical Direction from the University of South Carolina. He has taught technical theatre classes at SCSU since 1980. He is also a speaker and presenter of African customs and culture to civic groups, schools and churches. He has designed and built sets and lighting for over 125 plays. Mr. “O” is affectionately referred to as “Daddy O” by his students. He is a member of the SCTA, SETC and USITT.